Nagpur orange floods Hyderabad markets

The Nagpur variety of the citrus fruit is grown in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and farmers there have reported a bumper crop

Hyderabad: A bumper crop of the famed Nagpur oranges is flooding Hyderabad’s markets this season with the fruit being sold at a lower price compared to previous years.

This season, 491 trucks carrying the fruit from different districts of Maharashtra arrived at the Batasingaram market. A few dozen trucks also arrived at the Maozamjahi and Gudimalkapur markets.

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The Nagpur variety of the citrus fruit is grown in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and farmers there have reported a bumper crop. While 114 truckloads arrived here in December 2021, around 344 truckloads of the orange landed here the following year. However, this year so far, 491 trucks arrived at the Batasingaram market. “The average price per quintal is Rs 1,000. During the corresponding period last year, it was Rs 1,750,” said Batasingaram Fruit Market secretary Ch Narsimha Reddy.

The common man is benefiting to a large extent due to the low prices. A dozen of orange is sold for Rs 100. “It depends on the quality of the fruit. There are also oranges sold for Rs 700 a quintal,” the official said.

On average from November-end, 15 to 20 trucks of the fruit are supplied to the city daily. After the Nagpur variety supply ends, the fruit from Rajasthan starts arriving but the supply is very low. The orange season will continue till March or mid-April.

Due to huge supplies at the market, the fruit is reaching retailers in large quantities. “We are doing business at minimum profits to sell more quantity and earn money,” said Syed Shadab, a fruit trader at Afzalgunj.